LIVE MARKETS-Before the bell: awaiting the ECB, and NATO meeting

BEFORE THE BELL: AWAITING THE ECB, AND NATO MEETING

European shares were set for a muted start on Thursday ahead of an almost-certain rate cut by the European Central Bank, and a NATO meeting, where defence ministers are due to discuss Donald Trump’s demand for significant increases in spending.

EuroSTOXX50 .STOXX50E, DAX .GDAXI and FTSE .FTSE futures fell around 0.1%, while a defence rally appeared to ease with German arms makers Rheinmetall RHMG.DE, RENK R3NK.DE and Hensoldt HAGG.DE all hovering around parity on Tradegate.

After seven rate cuts in 13 months, ECB policymakers are widely expected to cut borrowing costs by another 25 basis points, although the case is building for a summer pause in its easing cycle, which has helped European shares outperform Wall Street this year.

In the latest reshuffle of German indices announced late on Wednesday, cloud company IONOS Group IOSn.DE will join the MDAX .MDAX index from June 23, replacing optical technology firm Jenoptik JENGn.DE. There were no changes for the DAX.

Corporate news was thin. A Goldman Sachs upgrade to buy could help drugmaker Bayer BAYGn.DE. There were a number of accelerated stock placements, including at Eutelsat ETL.PA, which could put pressure on the shares.

In M&A, outsourcer Mitie MTO.L agreed to buy smaller peer Marlowe MRLM.L for about $496 million.

U.S. futures, meanwhile, were also just a touch lower.

(Danilo Masoni)